Beliefs are nothing but opinions. And no matter what belief you have, there is always someone else that believes something opposite. For every person that believes that attending seminar is boring, there is someone else who believes it is fun.

Remember that our beliefs are never absolutely true. They are merely opinions and generalisations. But if we believe in them, they will indeed become true. In fact, beliefs are so powerful that they can literally affect you physically and alter your body's biochemistry.

The true story - The four-minute mile

For thousand of years, people believed that it was impossible for a man to run a mile in less than four minutes. Many made this generalisations and formed this belief because anybody who attempted had failed.

Doctors reinforced this belief by showing evidence from their study of human body that it was physically impossible to achieve this feat. Then in 1954, a man called Roger Bannister refused to believe this. He formed a new belief that is was possible. After lots of training mentally and physically, he accomplished this supposedly impossible feat. That, however, is not the amazing thing.

What's interesting is that until Roger Bannister accomplished this feat, nobody, for thousands of years, could do it. Yet within one year of Bannister's breaking the record, 37 other runners also did it and in the following year, another 300 did the same.

Why? Because Bannister's achievement had destroyed people limiting beliefs that it was impossible.

You are more than just a LABEL

Throughout our lives, we constantly make generalisations about all sorts of things, based on our past experiences. We especially make these generalisation about ourselves and they end up becoming beliefs we have about ourselves.

As a result, we collect a whole lot of labels which we then stick onto ourselves. Some of these lables are "I'm a lazy person", "I'm irresponsible", "I'm forgetful", or "I'm lousy at drawing".

Then, besides the labels we put on ourselves, there are those that others such as our parents, teachers and friends give us. Over time, we forget that these labels are just generalisations and inaccurate beliefs. We are so used to them that we treat them as realities that we live by. The quality of life you are living right now is a direct result of the labels you have collected and pasted on yourself.

Installing New and Useful Beliefs

If believing in something can really make it come true, then why do not you throw away all the beliefs that are limiting you in the past and adopt ones that will propel you to greater heights?

Instead of keeping labels others have stuck on you, create your own positive labels. You may want to give yourself a label like "I'm a Leader".

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve", Napolean Hill author of Think and Grow Rich.